President promotes CityU on Taiwan visit

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Professor Way Kuo, President of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) led a delegation to National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and three top high schools in Taiwan to promote academic exchanges and introduce the distinctive features and academic strengths of CityU’s teaching and research to high school students.

The CityU delegation, which included Dr David Cheng Xing, Associate Vice-President (Global Services), was warmly received by Professor Jenny Su Huey-jen, NCKU President, and representatives of NCKU’s management on 23 February.

In a roundtable meeting, representatives of the two universities discussed various issues relating to university governance, in particular how to align with education, research and internationalisation initiatives at major universities around the world.

In addition, Professor Kuo delivered a talk titled “What Does It Really Mean by Internationalisation for Higher Education Institutions?”

It was the first lecture in the 2016 NCKU “Research and Development Forum” Lecture Series.

During the lecture, he pointed out that internationalisation meant more than acquiring a higher proficiency in English and that in fact the key component should be the philosophy that internationalisation advocates, e.g. its global impact and contributions to sustainability.

The CityU delegation also took part in seminars at Kaohsiung Municipal Kaohsiung Girls’ Senior High School, Tainan First Senior High School, and Taipei First Girls High School from 22 to 24 February.

In a talk titled “Knowledge and Common Sense”, Professor Kuo argued that common sense was more important than knowledge and that knowledge was more important than an academic degree.

For example, Chinese scientist Tu Youyou, the Nobel laureate in medicine, did not have a doctorate degree, yet she had contributed significantly to the world, he said.

In addition, Professor Kuo, Dr Cheng, Ms Candy Chouk Yin, Associate Director of Global Services Office (External Liaison), and two distinguished CityU alumni, Ms Sunny Wang Lin and Mr Roy Wang Wei-chun, had a meeting with major Taiwanese media organisations on 24 February during which Professor Kuo presented CityU’s current developments and future plans.

He related how CityU admitted outstanding students from Taiwan every year, while Ms Wang and Mr Wang explained how opportunities to interact with overseas students during their studies at CityU had helped them to secure jobs immediately after graduation.

Strong communication skills were particularly attractive to multinational companies, they said.